34. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps her Department is taking to improve access to passport services, particularly in cases involving urgent travel or delays reported by constituents; the current processing times and any planned measures to enhance service delivery. [50176/26]

The Passport Service has issued nearly half a million passports to date this year.

The advertised passport processing times for applications are:

• Online simple adult renewal - 10 working days

• Online child/complex adult renewal - 15 working days

• Online first time, adult or child - 20 working days

• Passport Assist - 6 weeks

The public offices of the Passport Service in Dublin 2 and in Cork operate a four-day Urgent Appointment service for renewal applicants. The Dublin office also offers a one-day Urgent Appointment service for renewal applicants. Further information on the Urgent Appointment service is available at: www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/passports/urgent-appointment/

The Passport Service operates a general policy whereby applications can be expedited in cases of genuine emergency, such as a need for urgent medical treatment overseas or the death of a family member abroad. Such applications are expedited through the Travel Emergency service.

In December 2025, the Passport Service implemented the first phase of the Turas passport processing system, replacing legacy technology with a modern case management and passport processing platform. The introduction of Turas represents the single largest technology transformation undertaken by the Passport Service and has delivered more efficient, secure and resilient processing of passport applications.

On 26 June 2026, the Department launched Ireland’s newly designed passport book and card. The new passport incorporates enhanced security features alongside updated artwork celebrating Ireland’s heritage, culture and biodiversity. This project also comprised the implementation of the complex personalisation production machinery used to print the passports.

The Reform Programme is scheduled to conclude in Q3 2027 with work still ongoing on key projects including a Case Management System to consolidate all customer contacts and integrate with our core system Turas, a new online application platform for passport applications and Foreign Birth Registration services, and the implementation of additional passport integrity systems.